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Posted by: Cait Miller
The melody for the famous lullaby "Rock-a-Bye Baby" was composed, by Effie I. Canning near the end of the 19th century. Anecdotes about the history of the song vary, however, when researching numerous newspaper articles that present conflicting information.
Posted in: Sound recordings, Women in Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
2020 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will look a bit different for many who are used to sharing a beer at their local Irish pub; nevertheless, we can still celebrate the spirit of Ireland and the Irish by sitting at the piano, listening to some favorite ballads and songs, and doing a little online research in …
Posted in: Holidays, Sound recordings, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
It’s International Jazz Day! When our friends from the Prints & Photographs Division let us know that they’d be featuring favorite jazz-related items today on their blog, Picture This, I couldn’t let the day go by without a related post. Of course, the Music Division is home to outstanding jazz collections that document the life …
Posted in: African American History, Composers, Jazz, Musicians, Sheet Music, Sound recordings, Special Collections, Women in Music
Posted by: Cait Miller
The following is a guest post from Gershwin Archivist Janet McKinney. Janet presented a Curator Talk entitled “My Irish Song of Songs: Irish-American Identity in Popular Song and Musical Theater” on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 that was recorded for webcast and will be made available on the Library of Congress website in the coming months. …
Posted in: Curators, Guest bloggers, Holidays, Musical Theater, Sheet Music, Sound recordings, Special Collections
Posted by: Cait Miller
Stephen Collins Foster, one of the most significant songwriters in American history, died 150 years ago today. With over 200 songs to his credit, Foster penned tunes and lyrics that have stood the test of time: “Oh! Susanna,” “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair,” “Camptown Races,” and “My Old Kentucky Home” are just a handful …
Posted in: Composers, Sheet Music, Sound recordings